Author: John Foley, SJ

John Foley is Director of the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University and teaches Liturgical Theology at that university. His doctorate in liturgical/aesthetic theology is from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA He studied composition at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, in London, and at the University of Minnesota. He is a widely published composer of liturgical music.

Fr. Anthony has published an open letter to the Bishops. I think it is important and the act of a dedicated man. In commenting I want to make what I think is a needed observation about obedience and collegiality. I also provide a link to the entire letter, in case PrayTell readers have missed the full text.

I think the ancients were quite accurate. Waiting is nearly the essence of human lives. Patience is one of our greatest needs. The only one that trumps it is the need, or rather, desire, for God-with-us. Love is on the way. Advent is worth its weight in waiting.

What is so important about the “three judgments” for choosing Mass music? They are not just rubrical adjustments, but foundations of the very purpose of Mass itself. A parish-wide and diocese-wide solution should be found.

At the Preparation of the Gifts in the present translation of the Mass we might hear, “Through your goodness we have this spread to offer. . . .” And consider its companion prayer, a great misfortune: “Through your goodness we have this swine to offer. . .”